Thursday, October 1, 2026
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Cherryville, NC (WNN) - The Ironmen reached the midway point of the season with a 3-2 record heading into their bye week, after a 48-13 loss to the reigning NC State 3A Champion Golden Lions of Shelby. The evening of September 18, 2026, continued a pattern of unseasonably hot weather. The result was a humid, warm night with lightning that delayed the kickoff by 45 minutes. Neither team would have been too disappointed had there been a postponement, as both were missing key players. Shelby was down to their 5th-string quarterback by the end of the game, due to injuries and the starter resting with the score. Cherryville played without Maddox Carrigan, a key offensive lineman in the run game and the team's second leading tackler. Also missing were explosive offensive weapons, JJ McElhaney, and Jackson Heavner. Carrigan is recovering from an injury sustained in last week's game, while McElhaney and Heavner are dealing with an illness.
"Unfortunately, got hit by the injury bug and the sickness bug a little bit this week, hoping to have them all back going into next week, get them back healthy. Obviously, they're a big part of what we do, and we'll be excited to have them back."
- Coach Bowman
Cherryville has been explosive on offense all season and came into the game averaging just over 41 points per game. The game-day scratches of the top two offensive playmakers meant a tweak to the game plan in play-calling and execution. Using the next-man-up approach, Jayden Adams had to be more precise in his decision-making and on-field leadership. Elijah Proctor and Enijahe Whitworth were asked to shoulder more of the offensive load as well. All three young men performed well. Proctor had two long runs of 34 and 18 yards and a 12-yard reception for a touchdown. Whitworth was Adams' favorite target with 7 receptions for 106 yards, including a 41-yard touchdown catch. Adams finished the night passing 145 yards and 2 touchdowns. Cherryville played a cleaner game tonight with only 34 penalty yards and forced two turnovers, an interception by Jayden Adams and a fumble recovery by Landry Pruitt. Adams was also interviewed by Rusty Wise after the game and praised Adams and Whitworth; "yeah, he did really well. He made some good plays when I threw it to him and got extra yards when I threw it to him." The Ironmen have a bye week, then return to action at West Lincoln on October 2.
After Cherryville failed to move the ball on its opening possession, Shelby received the punt on the Ironmen's 24. They scored in 1 play on a pass to Immanuel Collins from Cruz Scott. Shelby's next scoring drive was 4 plays for 54 yards as Cruz Scott connected on a pass with Tyler Morgan for a 14-0 lead. Heading into the second quarter, Cherryville had a good drive going in which they had gained 3 straight first downs, that unfortunately ended at the 6-yard line when Landon Hollifield intercepted a Jayden Adams pass. A Jonas Woods 90-yard touchdown run capped off the two-play, 94-yard scoring drive. Down 21-0, the Ironmen again seemed to have a sustained drive going as Elijah Proctor ripped off a 34-yard run, which was one tackle away from being their first score. The drive stalled after a penalty and sack. Jonas Woods again scored for the Golden Lions on a 25-yard reception for a 28-0 Shelby lead. He again scored for the third time on the next drive, this time a 2-yard touchdown run for a 35-0 Shelby lead. Just before the end of the half, Tyler Morgan put the game out of reach as he caught a 46-yard pass that increased the lead to 41-0.
The second half could not have started any worse for the Ironmen as Tyler Morgan took the kickoff and rambled for 85 yards to score Shelby's final touchdown as they were now ahead 48-0. Cherryville's next drive was almost all Elijah Proctor. The 80-yard scoring drive was highlighted by his 18-yard run and a 12-yard touchdown pass from Adams. The Cole Kelly kick cut the lead to 48-7. Early in the fourth quarter, Landry Pruitt recovered a fumble at the Lions' 41. Enijahe Whitworth caught his 7th pass of the game on this final drive, which was good for 41 yards and a touchdown. Cole Kelly's kick was blocked, leaving the score at 48-13.
After the game, WNN's Rusty Wise interviewed Enijahe Whitworth, Coach Bowman, Jayden Adams, and Leeroy Montgomery.
Enijahe Whitworth (WR/LB) – He expressed how he felt the game went. "I feel like we could have worked a lot harder on defense executing, but I feel like the offensive game was pretty good tonight. I just did what I could and did my job. I'm glad we got to put up at least two touchdowns on them." Whitworth also stated what he saw as points of emphasis during the bye week, "I think we need to work a lot harder on defense, making sure everybody on the team does their job perfectly, so we can be able to put more points on the board. The defense is the most important part of the game."
Head Coach Patrick Bowman – He summarized how he thought the game played out, "First off, they're a really good football team, they're very well coached. We had to play our best game. Unfortunately, feel like we didn't really feel like we did that, but we showed some sparks, showed some energy at times. Thought our quarterback played well, and Enijahe had 7 receptions. Like we talked about last week, we're lucky we've got some play makers and it's my job to make sure we get them the ball and making the most of our opportunities and we got to get better at that and that starts with me. We'll attack the bye week and try to get back on the right foot."
Jayden Adams (QB/DB) – He summed up the night by saying, "You know Shelby is a really good 3A team, won state. Last year, they scored like 80 points. I'm proud of my guys. They put up a fight, helped me do what I could. We definitely did better; we took this week to prepare a little bit harder. I think we took it a little more serious and actually played hard this game. I don't think we gave up as much as we did last year."
Leeroy Montgomery (Manager/Ball Boy) – He gave his observation on the game as he stated, "We played ball with them, we're going to get better in the end. Work on everything, get better for West Lincoln, work on everything."
In a pregame ceremony, the 2025-2026 Cherryville High School Cheer Team received its championship rings, presented by Athletic Director Matt Powers, CHS Principal Mitch Allen, and assistant principal Heather Parrish. This group of ladies won both the NC High School Athletics Association Invitational and the NC Cheer Coaches Association State Championship in the traditional D2 Division.
Head coach Wendy Holt, along with Assistant Coaches Layn Tallent and Tammy Wilson, thanked the Ironmen Booster Club and the CHS athletic department for their continued support of the CHS Cheerleading program. The following girls were members of the championship teams. Gracie Adkins, Ella Blake, Kaydance Ellis, Bailey Tackett, Rylee Anderson, Aliyah Howell, Mackenzie Johnson, Myla Parnell, Grayce Pruitt, Eleanor Sermersheim, and Paylin Wooten.
See the full game photo gallery here.
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